the truth
by Peace and Love831
Summary: sequel to i know different...white collar xover...peter and neal stop by the buymore to fix a laptop, and neal and chuck have an interesting conversation...will be 1 more story in the series thx...story #3


Peter brought a laptop with him so he could do some work while we were here, and now for some reason it wouldn't turn on, so here we are at the Buymore trying to get it fixed. He went up to what they called the Nerd Herd desk and I went to go look at the TV's.

Then out of nowhere this goofy looking little bearded man comes up to me and starts looking at me up and down with this serious expression. "can I help you with something" I say and he just shakes his head

"No, you just look like this guy my best friend use to know" I don't really know what to say to that so I just settle for "thanks I guess" which I take is the wrong answer because the little man starts shaking his head

"no no no. It's not a compliment. This guy Bryce was a _total_ douche bag" that makes me angry. I step up right into his face, a little to much for his liking I can tell.

"the reason why I look like Bryce, is because he was my brother" That shocked the little bearded dude and he mumbles what sounds like a sorry

"Ya, I think you should be sorry. I don't care what he did to your friend, but considering that he just _died_, you might want to have a little bit more respect"

He nods his head and says "ya I totally agree, I'm sorry. I should have had more respect. I tend to speak without thinking a lot. It gets me into a lot of trouble to" he continues to babble until one of the nerd herd guys comes walking up to us. Which looks a lot like the guy Chuck that was at my brothers funeral.

"is there a problem" chuck says and the little guy replies "nope, no problem at all. Oh look at that, it looks like a customer needs my attention" and with that we watch him run off, and then Chuck turns his attention back to me.

"I'm sorry if he said anything to offend you" I shake my head "I take it, you're the best friend" he looks a little confused but nodded his head in agreement.

"Bryce use to talk about you a lot" he tensed up "I know what he did to you, and I'm sorry it hurt you, and I know he is sorry to. He had his reasons though" what I said makes him a little angry

"oh ya, and what reasons were those, and why didn't he tell me, if _there_ was an explanation behind it" I look at him surprised

"I'm surprised you don't know, since you're in the CIA now. I figured you would have found out" he looks confused, maybe I shouldn't tell him if he doesn't know

"you know what, never mind. It was good to finally meet you" and with that I try to walk away but he runs in front of me

"No wait. You cant just say that he had a reason for getting me kicked out of school and not tell me what it is" I sigh, great now I wish I hadn't said anything, but I know that Chuck hating Bryce was tearing him up inside. So I guess I can tell him, for Bryce.

"well since you're in the CIA now, I guess it wouldn't hurt" now how to put what happened in words. Ok here goes nothing.

"He found out that you were going to get recruited into the field, and he knew that with the good heart that you have, you wouldn't be able to make it; or at least that it would change you into something you wouldn't like, and he didn't want that for you"

Chuck looks beyond shocked at what I had just said "So he got help from an _unexpected_ source I guess you could say, and he made it look like you cheated…to save you" his jaw was open so wide I though it was going to unhinge itself like a snake. After a couple of seconds he recovered

"how come he never told me" he said with sadness in his eyes

"would you have believed him if he just came out and said that he framed you for cheating so the CIA wouldn't recruit you and make you another one of their heartless machines"

"ya, I see your point" I felt bad for the poor kid

"he wanted to tell you. He never felt right after what he did, but he had to do it, so you would be safe. You have no idea how much it tore him up inside knowing he could never tell you the truth, and that you would hate him forever for it" it seems like he's thinking over what I had just said, and then apparently something happened in his thought process, cause now he looks angry

"so what's his explanation for sleeping with my girlfriend…at the time" oh now I see, I couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that

"Bryce can…I mean _could_ be a dick sometimes, but he would never take a girl away from someone, especially if that someone is you. What ever happened with your ex, she had her own reasons for saying what she did, but it wasn't the truth, and I cant give you a reason behind her actions. You'll have to figure that one out on your own" some of the tension seemed to have left his body.

"Thank you for telling me" I nod "I know that Bryce wanted you to know the truth, so with that I hope that you hate him a little less" he smiles at me

"Ya, well I cant really hate a guy for trying to save me, now can I" now I smile, and then something pops into my head and I frown "it doesn't look like it mattered though, since you're with the CIA now anyways"

With that, he frowns to "I don't understand why he did this to me" I look at him confused, not knowing what he is talking about. He looks up at me and sees my confusion and shakes his head.

"It doesn't matter. So how long are you staying in town for" I see peter start to walk up to us. "I'm actually leaving now. We just came in here to fix my friends laptop" he looked a little sad at that

"oh, well if you ever decide to come back to Burbank, you can hit me up. I would like to learn more about Bryce. I mean if you want, you don't have to"

"No it's ok, I wouldn't mind that at all, there's just a little problem. It's going to have to be if _you_ ever stop by in New York. I can't come back down here for at least two more years" he looks at me confused, but doesn't push it.

"hey peter" I say when he stops in front of us "what's going on" he asks. Chuck just shakes his head "nothing much, we were just talking"

He turns his attention back to me "well, if I ever stop by New York, I'll look you up" I nod and extend my hand to shake his, he takes it and says "thanks again, you don't know how much what you said means to me" peter looks between us confused "Don't mention it" I watch as chuck walks off back to the nerd herd desk and gets stopped halfway there by the little bearded man.

"What was all that about" I turn to Peter "nothing, don't worry about it. Are we done here" he looks at me seriously for a second before saying "Ya, lets go" and with that we leave Burbank and go back home.


End file.
